Happy Valentine's Day!

Just thought I'd share a quick photo of my son Daniel and his Valentine's Day cards for school.  I'm so proud of him for choosing Football related Valentine's cards!  That's my boy!

I hope everyone has a special day today!  And to my dear beautiful wife...Happy Valentines Day Darling.

Hangin' in East Texas...

The time was right for a trip up to the family mansion (translated "Little Yellow House" on a "Little bit of acreage") in East Texas.  When the temperature is just right and being outside is a pleasant experience, it's time to go.  And this time we had the great privilege of including our dear friends Christian (heretofore known as Ish) and Todd Parsons, both accomplished outdoorsman and lovely to be with.

We made the trek on Friday afternoon arriving just in time for Ish/Todd to throw together a really nice Spaghetti & Meatball dinner, complete with appetizers and ice cream dessert with about 20 toppings to choose from.

A rare picture of children without electronics!

Saturday of course meant it was time to assist the anxious angler to the pond for some fishing.  Unfortunately, with the drought of the past year, it seems that about 1 fish survived...which we caught several times.  In fact, we named him Jimmy and chastised him for being dumb enough to latch on to yellow stink bait over and over again.  After some time, we actually began to assume that he was making a suicide attempt and would rather we not throw him back each time.  Sorry Jimmy!

Yours Truly with Daniel & Jimmy

Lunchtime arrived and we set out once again for the famous (since I blogged about this place last time) Sissy's Country Cafe for Chicken Fried Steaks, Hot Rolls and a wonderful assortment of other country cooked fatty foods.  After a nice hike through the woods and some John Deere tractor time for me and Heavy D, the afternoon found us relaxing and enjoying the cool air...with adult refreshments of course.  Saturday evening included a great steak dinner followed by a really groovy campfire complete with s'mores.

The afternoon hike...

Ish, Jen, Riley & Dobby

Yes, I sell custom clothing and drive a John Deere!

A little afternoon refreshment break.

Ish, Todd & Daniel preparing the evening's bonfire.

Heavy D freezing his butt off by the fire.  Bring on the s'mores!

Sunday morning found us on a small river type offshoot of Palestine Lake in the Parson's Canoe.  That's right...on occasion...the Sudduth's do canoe.  Unfortunately, one outing found Ish, MyKala and her friend Hannah in the drink.  Oddly, all parties seem to blame the other for the misfortune.  Nevertheless, it was a good time and a great water based experience.

How do you transport a canoe you ask?

Seaman 1st Class Daniel prepares to take to the water...

The first journey out...Jen was a little nervous!

At first, everything seemed just fine!

Then the unwanted canoe tumping practice occurred!

We took our leave on Sunday afternoon and headed back to H-Town.  Another wonderfully exciting experience in E. Texas complete.  A huge thanks to our fabulous friends Ish & Todd for joining us and adding to the memories.

Where is Jimmy?

Restaurant Review: Ouisie's - The Bird & The Bear Bistro

I got a wonderful call last Thursday to join my lovely wife for lunch...and who was I to say no!  She was hungry and looking hot...which of course are my two favorite ingredients for a spousal lunch date!  We decided to check out one of our favorite restaurateur's new spot called The Bird & The Bear Bistro, the latest offering from Ouisie of the long-running standard in River Oaks - Ouisie's Table.

We arrived a little early at 11:20 and found plenty of tables available.  However, by the time we left, there were but a few scant seats still for the taking.  The interiors were cool and beautiful, shaped in dark reds, black and white with an eclectic artistic angle that included antique chandeliers and Victorian era chairs hanging from the ceiling.  The service was its usual high standard with plenty of attention without annoyance.

Our culinary offering was fantastic although completely expected from Ouisie's kitchen.  Jen chose an aromatic Vegetable Paella while I dove into a Spicy Chicken & Avocado Sandwich made with arugula, tomatoes, Monterrey Cheese and red onions and finished with a side of french fries.  Both meals were extremely tasty and left us full and happy.  The menu has many other items that we'd love to try, so we absolutely expect to return for another go round at lunch.  And we didnt' even get a chance to look at the dinner menu which I'm sure is full of good stuff.

Spicy Chicken & Avocado Sandwich

Vegetable Paella

The Bird & The Bear is located on Westheimer just West of Kirby next door to Chuy's.  For more information click here.  And if you decide to go check it out, give us a call and we'll join you!

And of course I'm sure you're wondering what Yours Truly was wearing for such an occasion, so here goes.  It was cool out so I decided to work in a charcoal tweed herringbone sport coat, white shirt with appropriate necktie, flannel trousers flanked with new striped socks and chocolate suede brogues.  A very nice kit to go alongside a very smartly attired wife.

Supper Club Takes Off....

Many of you dear readers have followed the past few years of our illustrious Dinner Club.  Well, some fun friends of ours decided to start a club of their own and were kind enough to ask us to join...and even host the first event to show them "the way".  So last Saturday evening we hosted the first edition of "Supper Club", not to be confused in later posts with "Dinner Club".  The evening was a huge hit and lasted into the wee hours of Sunday morning.  There was much laughter and frolicking with many memories already for the record book.

We got it all started with appetizers consisting of Havarti cheese/crackers, mixed olives and nuts and a warm serving of burgundy mushrooms, a recipe courtesy of the Caver Family.  Next followed a cleansing of the palette with a nice orange sorbet.  After which followed a full main course serving of pot roast, Parmesan/garlic green beans and domino potatoes with a side of artisan bread choices.  The dinner was finished off with a serving of 2 different aged ports and a heaping of chocolate, chocolate chip bunt cake.  We served bottles of wine from my late Father's collection, all from the California Wine Club and all with a 90+ rating...very nice!  We were also privileged to use almost all of my late Mother's fine china and crystal with various family members beautifully aged silver pieces.

The Table...ready for the evening!

Mom's China, Crystal & family Silver

The fine looking Men of the evening

And the even finer ladies of the evening!

Early on...before the main course

Our palette's are ready now!

Going deep into the cabinet for some Port

Decanted port from an older bottle

Mr. Holmes proclaims victory!

The candle has run its course...

Mr. Lewis & Mrs. Holmes enjoying themselves...

Mr. Sakson proclaiming that he is done for the evening!

Late night with port and cigars...

Now the dinner may have been completed but the festivities continued on to the back porch for more fun, wine and cigars.  Needless to say, we now have 2 dinner/supper clubs to look forward to every other month!  Thanks to the Sakson's for putting the group together and especially for including us in the terrific fun!  We are so pleased to be part of the membership!

Fun Socks for 2012!

I was doing a little reconnaissance work in the Galleria last week checking out the latest collections from the likes of Ralph Lauren, Georgio Armani, Tom Ford and the Brethren Brooks and decided to add a little extra flavor to my sock drawer.  Socks can be a fun way to spruce up your wardrobe without taking a major hit to the pocket book.  All the socks pictured below were acquired for less than $13.00/pair.  And the blue/red stripe jobs were on sale at Brooks for $7.00.  How could I not pounce on them.

Brooks Brothers, J. Crew & Neiman Marcus

So next time you find yourself in the mall or a nice men's shop, see if they've got the socks on sale...then grab a couple of pairs.  A well dressed man is dressed head to toe.  You don't have to go for color or stripes, just make sure your hosiery has no holes, is close to the original color and never, ever under any circumstances should your socks slide down to reveal some skin when you cross your legs.  Remember, even if you've paid big money for a suit, shirt and tie, never relax your attention to detail in your socks, shoes or belt.  Buy quality and show the world that you care about your personal representation.  Have some fun and spend a little time this year on the details that will round out your wardrobe properly.

Sudduth's take to the snow & loose a tooth!

I hope everyone in the blogosphere had a safe and enjoyable holiday season!

After another wonderful Christmas Celebration in Austin with Jen's family, the Sudduth's took a little trip to Angel Fire, New Mexico for some hot dog skiing.  I have to give all the kudos to Jen for thinking of, planning and executing this trip whilst I was knee deep in house selling, house clean-out and estate sale management.  And what a fantastic idea this was!

The Family on the Slopes!

We hit the slopes for 3 days of swishing and frolicking.  Daniel took a couple of lessons and quickly became a straight down the slope dare devil while MyKala took on the daunting task of learning to snow board - a much cooler method of getting down the hill favored by teenagers.  We spent most of the time on the bunny slope watching our children have fun.  I did manage to dive down a couple of blue runs only to find the burning in my thighs and calves was not as much fun as I remembered.  We even took in some snow tubing one night!

What a cute couple!

Hangin' in the lift lines...

Yours Truly with some Winter Chin Growth

One of several trips to the Pizza Place...

Mom & MyKala

Dining al fresco on top of the mountain

Heavy D in full ski rig

Daniel & his Sissy

Takin' down some refreshment

Yours Truly with his beautiful bride

And the other events we're monitoring are the continuation of Daniel's teeth separation exercise.  He's now losing about one a month.  His current state is a complete front tooth gap.  He had one snaggletooth for awhile that stubbornly wouldn't fall out but was soon remedied when he woke up without it one morning.  The Tooth Fairy has been very busy around our house!

Onwards into 2012!

Fraternity gets a taste of clothing...

Yesterday I had the absolute pleasure of being the luncheon speaker at the Sigma Chi Alumni Networking Event.  I've been part of this group for the past year and I have to tell you that it's one of the most beneficial groups I belong to and are my favorite events to attend.  Although all these guys are my Fraternity Brothers, I've made some new good friends that have provided unwavering support for me over the past few tough months, something I will always appreciate and admire.

The group's founder - Brother Rob Johnson with Yours Truly

The Brothers were very accepting of my ramblings regarding personal representation and how clothing can make or break the way you're viewed, especially the initial meeting.  Remember, it doesn't matter how much money you have, how hot your wife is, what college you attended or where you live, if you look like a slacker, chances are the image your projecting just says, "I don't care".  And who wants to work or hang out with someone who just doesn't care?  With smart fashion choices, instant credibility can be yours!

I brought along some of Dad's college stuff to show the guys

Thanks again to my Sigma Chi Brothers for allowing me to present my opinions and for their continued support of me personally as well as my business.